“We hope today’s fine will send a strong message to all companies that use call centres that they need to ensure they are fully compliant with the rules or face the consequences”.

Bob Warner, the chairman of the Communications Consumer Panel said: “This is the first time that Ofcom has flexed its muscles to use its new enforcement powers.

“Silent calls cause a great deal of anxiety, particularly for older people living alone”.

HomeServe identified the problem while conducting its own audit of services provided by a third party marketing company.

According to the company the problem was resolved in 2011, and outside companies are no longer used for marketing calls.

A spokesman for the company said: “HomeServe is providing goodwill gestures of £10 to customers who received a silent, abandoned or repeat call from the references outsourcer over the relevant period”.